Development process

Issues

An issue is a formal description of a known problem, or desired feature, inside a tracker. There are two kind of issues:

Bug
describes a defect of the software; it must lead to a resolution of the problem. For example, a process crashing under certain conditions.
Feature/Enhancement
describes an improvement of the current code or an entirely new feature. For example, remove a harmless warning of a running process or designing a new UI panel.

Bugs and enhancements will always produce some code changes inside one or more git repositories.

Each repository is associated with one or more RPM packages. Changes to the code produce new releases of RPM packages.

Do I need to open a new issue?

Yes, if what you’re talking about will produce some code. By the way, it’s perfectly reasonable not to fill issues for occasional small fixes, like typos in translations.

When implementing small fixes, always avoid commits to the master branch. Open a Pull requests and carefully describe the problem. Creation of issues can be avoided only for trivial fixes which require no QA effort.

Issues are not a TODO list. Issues track the status changes of a job, the output of the job will be a new RPM resolving the issue itself. If you are exploring some esoteric paths for new feature or hunting something like a heisenbug , please write a draft wiki page with your thoughts, then create a new issue only when you’re ready to write a formal description and produce some output object.

A process for a new feature should be something like this:

Writing issues

How to write a bug report:

  • Apply the bug label
  • Point to the right software component with the associated version
  • Describe the error, and how to reproduce it
  • Describe the expected behavior
  • If possible, suggest a fix or workaround
  • If possible, add a piece of system output (log, command, etc)
  • Text presentation matters: it makes the whole report more readable and understandable

How to write a feature or enhancement:

  • Everybody should understand what you’re talking about: describe the feature with simple words using examples
  • If possible, add links to external documentation
  • Text presentation and images matter: they make the whole report more readable and understandable

More information:

Issue priority

Bugs should always have priority over features.

The priority of a bug depends on:

  • security: if it’s a security bug, it should have maximum priority
  • number of affected users: more affected users means more priority

Issue tracker

The NethServer project is hosted on GitHub and is constituted by many git repositories. We set one of them to be the issue tracker:

https://github.com/NethServer/dev

Issues created on dev help coordinating the development process, determining who is in charge of what.

Issue labels

Issues can be tagged using a set of well-known labels:

  • bug: a defect of the software
  • testing: packages are available from testing repositories (see QA team member (testing))
  • verified: all test cases were verified successfully (see QA team member (testing))
  • invalid: invalid issue, not a bug, duplicate or wontfix. Add a detailed description and link to other related issue when using this tag.

An issue without a label is considered a new feature or an enhancement.

Until June 2024, both NethServer 7 (NS7) and NethServer 8 (NS8) are actively supported. You can use the ns7 label label to mark the issues for NethServer 7.

Before introducing new labels, please discuss them with the development team and make sure to describe carefully the new label inside the label page.

Developer

The Developer.

  • Sets the Assignee to himself.
  • Bundle his commits as one or more GitHub Pull requests
  • For enhancements, writes the test case (for bugs the procedure to reproduce the problem should be already set).
  • Writes and updates the Documentation associated with the code.
  • Finally, clears the Assignee.

If the issue is not valid, it must be closed using the invalid label. A comment must convey the reason why it is invalid, like “duplicate of (URL of issue), wontfix because …”.

QA team member (testing)

The QA team member.

  • Takes an unassigned issue with label testing and sets the Assignee field to him/herself.
  • Tests the package, following the test case documentation written by the Developer.
  • When test finishes he/she removes the testing label and clears the Assignee field. If the test is successful, he/she sets the verified label, otherwise he/she alerts the Developer and the Packager to plan a new process iteration.

Packager

The Packager coordinates the Developer and QA member work. After the Developer opens one or more pull requests:

  • Selects issues with open pull requests
  • Reviews the pull request code and merges it
  • Builds and uploads the RPMs to the testing repository and sets the testing label (see Building RPMs)

After the QA member has completed the testing phase:

  • Takes an unassigned issue with label verified
  • Commits a release tag (see Building RPMs).
  • Re-builds the tagged RPM.
  • Uploads the RPM to updates (or base) repository.
  • Pushes the release tag and commits to GitHub
  • Closes the issue, specifying the list of released RPMs

When the package is CLOSED, all related documentation must be in place.

Pull requests

A Pull Request (PR) is the main method of submitting code contributions to NethServer.

You can find an overview of the whole workflow here: https://guides.github.com/introduction/flow/

Submitting a pull request

When submitting a PR, check that:

  1. PR is submitted against master (for current stable release)
  2. PR title contains a brief explanation of the feature, fix or enhancement
  3. PR comment contains a link to the related issue, in the form NethServer/dev#<number>, eg: NethServer/dev#1122
  4. PR comment describes the changes and how the feature is supposed to work
  5. Multiple dependent PRs in multiple repositories must include the dependencies between them in the description
  6. Select at least one PR reviewer (GitHub suggestions are a usually good)
  7. Select yourself as the initial PR assignee

Managing an open pull request

After submitting a PR, before it is merged:

  1. If enabled, automated build process must pass
    • If the build fails, check the error and try to narrow down the reason
    • If the failure is due to an infrastructure problem, please contact a developer who will help you
  2. Another developer must review the pull request to make sure it:
    • Works as expected
    • Doesn’t break existing stuff
    • The code is reasonably readable by others developers
    • The commit history is clean and adheres to Commit message style guide
  3. The PR must be approved by a developer with commit access to NethServer on GitHub:
    • Any comment raised by a developer has been addressed before the pull request is ready to merge

Merging a pull request

When merging a PR, make sure to copy the issue reference inside the merge commit comment body, this step will be used by automation tools:

  • to write notification about published RPMs inside the referenced issue
  • to automatically create RPMs changelog

If the commit history is not clear enough, or you want to easily revert the whole work, it’s acceptable to squash before merge. Please make sure the issue reference is present inside the comment of the squashed commit.

Also, avoid adding the issue references directly inside non-merge commit messages to have a clean GitHub reference graph.

Example of a good merge commit:

commit xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Merge: xxxxxxx yyyyyyy
Author: Mighty Developer <mighty.developer@netheserver.org>
Date:   Thu Dec 14 17:12:19 2017 +0100

    Merge pull request #87 from OtherDev/branchXY

    Add new excellent feature

    NethServer/dev#1122

Example of a merged PR with squash:

commit xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Author: Mighty Developer <mighty.developer@netheserver.org>
Date:   Thu Dec 14 17:12:19 2017 +0100

  Another feature (#89)

  NethServer/dev#1133

Draft pull requests

The use of draft pull requests is recommended to share an on-going development. Draft pull requests can be used to test possible implementations of features that do not have an issue yet. If the draft pull request does not reference an issue it must have an assignee.

RPM Version numbering rules

NethServer releases carry the version number of the underlying CentOS. For example NethServer 7 beta1 is based on CentOS 7.

Packages have a version number in the form X.Y.Z-N (Eg. nethserver-myservice-1.0.3-1.ns7.rpm):

  • X: major release, breaks retro-compatibility
  • Y: minor release, new features - big enhancements
  • Z: bug fixes - small enhancements
  • N: spec modifications inside the current release - hotfixes

Commit message style guide

Individual commits should contain a cohesive set of changes to the code. These seven rules summarize how a good commit message should be composed.

  1. Separate subject from body with a blank line
  2. Limit the subject line to 50 characters
  3. Capitalize the subject line
  4. Do not end the subject line with a period
  5. Use the imperative mood in the subject line
  6. Wrap the body at 72 characters
  7. Use the body to explain what and why vs. how

For merge commits, and commits pushed directly to master branch (avoid whenever possible!), also add the issue reference inside the commit body.

Documentation

The developer must take care to write all documentation on:

  • wiki page during development
  • Developer Manual and/or README.rst before release
  • Administrator Manual before release
  • Inline help before release

Packages should be inside the testing or nethforge-testing repositories until all documentation is completed.

New packages

Before creating a new package, make sure it’s a good idea. Often a simple documentation page is enough, and it requires much less effort. When trying new things, just take care to write down on a public temporary document (maybe a wiki page) all steps and comments. If the feature collects many requests, it’s time to think about a new package. Otherwise, the temporary document can be moved to a manual page.

When creating a new package, make sure the following requirements are met:

  • Announce it on http://community.nethserver.org
  • Create an issue describing the package
  • Create a personal repository on GitHub
  • Add a GPL license and copyright notice in the COPYING file
  • Add a README.rst file, with developer documentation
  • If needed, create a pull request for the NethServer/comps or NethServer/nethforge-comps repository, to list the package in the Software center page.
  • Build the package and push it to testing or nethforge-testing repository

See also Building RPMs.

Package updates

Updates to RPM packages must obey the following rules:

  • New features/enhancements and bug fixes must not alter the behavior of existing systems
  • New behaviors must be enabled by an explicit and documented sysadmin operation
  • RPM packages must support updates from any previous release of the same branch

Minor release from upstream

On every upstream (CentOS) minor release, the QA team should check the following hot points before clearing the way to the new release:

  • Samba: authenticated access to file shares
  • Mail server
    • sending and receiving mail
    • antivirus filter on received mail
  • Groupware
    • basic mail features
    • access to calendars and contacts
  • Web proxy
    • web access with transparent proxy
    • antivirus filter on using EICAR test
  • Web applications (eg. NextCloud)
  • Asterisk with dahdi kernel modules and FreePBX

ISO releases

Usually, the NethServer project releases a new ISO image in the following cases:

  • when the upstream project releases a new ISO image. The NethServer ISO is rebased on it.
  • when packages bundled in the ISO receive new features that affect the installation procedure and/or the initial system configuration.

The NethServer ISO is almost equivalent to the upstream one, except for the following points:

  • Additional boot menu options and graphics
  • Additional Anaconda kickstart scripts and graphics
  • Additional RPMs from the NethServer project

See also Building ISO.

Pre-releases

Before any final ISO release, the software development process goes through some test versions, usually called alpha, beta and release candidate (RC). These releases are an excellent way to experiment with new features, but may require some experience using a Linux system and/or the command line.

Alpha releases are not ready to be used in production because some features are not finished, furthermore upgrade to the final release will not be supported (but may be possible).

Beta releases could be used in production, especially if new features are not used on mission-critical systems. Upgrades to the final release are supported.

Release candidates (RC) can be run in production, all features are supposed to be complete and bug-free. The upgrade to the final release will be minor or less.